Shelburne players experience the gridiron with Outlaws

With high school sports pretty much over, many Shelburne athletes turn to summer league gridiron sports and sign up with the Orangeville Outlaws Football Club.

As the only football club in the area many players actually travel even farther to don the orange jersey with several team members making the trek down from Owen Sound to play.

The effort they say is worth it – that's how much they enjoy the sport.

The summer ball season gets underway in May and wraps up in August with the playoffs and championship games.

Owen Jack, a defensive back with the Outlaws Varsity team plays high school ball but makes the effort to keep on top of his game with the Orangeville team.

“It takes us about an hour and twenty minutes to get from home to the field we practice on (Westside Secondary School),” Owen said. “It is the closest thing for us. Owen Sound only has high school ball. We come out to be better. We learn from here and go back to do better.”

The Club has quite a few members from Shelburne and the surrounding area who sign up every year and take part in the Club's pre-season training and play on the Bantam, Junior Varsity, and Varsity level teams.

It's not a sport for everyone. Some kids give it a try and find out they don't like the hard hitting action and try another sport the next season.

Others thrive on the contact and enjoy both giving and getting a good thumping on the field.

Many of the players start out at the Tyke learning level and play all the way through until they complete their final year at the Varsity level. Some actually take it a step further and go on to university level football.

The sport requires dedication. With a lot of rules, players must learn the nuances of the game and how to tackle and respect the confines of fair play both on the field. They learn to respect their opponents as well as officials.

The Outlaws host their home games at Westside Secondary School in Orangeville on Sundays.